


The Universe takes a big shit on Jon Snow

by astrqid



Series: My OC's make Characters react to stuff [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, DCU (Comics), Game of Thrones (TV), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Characters React to Fandom, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack premise, Dimension Travel, F/M, I love comments, Jon Snow Knows Nothing, More relationship tags to be added - Freeform, New 52, Oh yeah um this is slow burn, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pop Culture, Send things you want to see him react to, Slow Burn, Superheroes, Titans, bruh bare with me, ill do it if its in my realm of knowledge, please comment, react to modern world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25695778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrqid/pseuds/astrqid
Summary: After dying (the first time) Jon Snow wakes up in an alternate universe where DC superheroes exist... yeah that's pretty much it lol
Relationships: Jon Snow/Original Female Character(s), Raven/Damian Wayne
Series: My OC's make Characters react to stuff [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863439
Comments: 34
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just have an obsessive fascination with crossovers

**Chapter 1**

Pain ran all through his chest, everything hurt; even to breathe was a struggle. 

Nothing felt right.

He looked down at his chest to find a thin shirt that barely reached his elbows. An odd cut for the winter.

But it was then that he realized he wasn't cold at all, he was actually quite warm…

His eyes left his chest to take a look at his surroundings. The random pictures and posters on the smooth grey walls, the metal contraptions that sat on the wardrobe, the metal bed frame? There was light in the room but from a strange looking fire on the ceiling.

Where was he? Where was Ghost?

His adrenaline shot up, allowing him to jump off the bed and to his feet. Is this what the afterlife looked like, was this a dream?

He walked to look at the posters on the wall, the symbols, the words, even the people… they meant nothing to him. They were beautiful though, the people looked so real he could touch them; he'd never seen art like it before.

Or is this real life and my death but a dream?

If so, why couldn't he remember anything from this life, nothing in the room was familiar, not even the clothes on his back.

The last thing he remembered were Olly's eyes. He winced.

_For the watch._

He hoped it was a nightmare, a sick dream. He wished he would wake up in Castle Black, in his quarters, even if he was drowning in the piling stress.

He spied a looking glass about his height in the corner, he walked up to it and stared.

He looked the same, he could say _that_ at the very least. He even had the scar across his eye from Orell's hawk.

If he had kept that scar could he have kept…

This was insane no one could have survived wounds like those, but he remembered the horrible pain in his chest as he woke.

He stared at the thin black fabric covering his chest, even now he was in all black. He scoffed at the irony. But he was still hesitant to check his chest.

It would make everything too real, Jon didn't even know where he was.

He lifted his shirt and held his breath as he spied the first scar, then the next, and the next. They were more like deep wounds, inflamed and red, yet they didn't bleed.

He died. No one could survive those wounds.

He couldn't feel Ghost either. The connection was severed. Either one of them was dead and the other was not or they were too far away from each other, but he wasn't sure. He’d never been so far away that he didn't feel Ghost at all.

His panic increased, he needed to find out where he was, he needed to know why he was here.

The door was right there, just a few steps away and yet... his feet couldn't move. His mind was moving so fast he forgot how to walk.

This was not good.

He leaned against the nearest wall and tried breathing deep and slow.

Jon was frustrated, why couldn't his life ever be simple. First the Others, then he becomes the youngest Lord Commander in history, now he's alive again but not in Westeros… unless this was Essos, Sothoryos, or the Summer Isles?

"Why am I here, Gods?"

Fuck, he doesn't even know where "here" is. He didn't even know if _his_ Gods even existed.

He needed to get out of this damned room before he suffocated on his own breath. But first he needed boots. He looked around the room’s floor till he spotted a pair of odd looking cloth boots that stopped at his ankles. Weird world, weird footwear.

Jon put on the cloth boots and steeled himself… he opened the door.

More metal, more smooth walls. He looked to his right and found more doors.

There were a lot of people here then.

He looked to the left… more people. Fuck’s sake... at least he could ask around.

He took a moment to just take it all in, everything was so uniform, yet not. There were random colors everywhere, colors he was not used to seeing, colors he’s never even seen before. But beneath all the bright colors was strict and flavourless architecture. White walls, and gray doors for leagues; most of it covered in more posters and other odd decorations. 

Jon heard the click of metal to his right and saw a door begin to open. He didn’t know where to begin. Would he go straight to the questions or ease into it and make small talk. But Jon was not in the mood for small talk, he needed answers now.

Out stepped a small woman with dark skin and curly hair. Was it possible she was a Summer Islander? A Naathian? From Essos? He wasn’t too sure; not much time was spent on the intricacies of those places with Maester Lewin. She made her way towards Jon. Her dress was long and flowy, made for warmer climates. She carried an odd leather bag with her and her lips were painted red. He hoped she spoke the Common Tongue.

Those red lips formed an “O” as she spotted him, “Are you new here?” She had an odd accent, but at least they knew the same tongue.

“I believe so- this may sound weird, my lady, but where is ‘here’ exactly?” She sent him the craziest look.

“My lad- huh?” _Do I just address her by her name?._.. “My apologies, could you give me your name?”

“It’s Raven, Raven Kane.” Like the bird. Jon had never heard of it used as a name before. The name didn’t sound Essosi at all and it was a loud cry away from the exotic x’s and z’s from the Isles. It was a rather plain name, sounding more like the northern names he was accustomed to. 

"And you are?"

"My name is Jon Snow." No visceral reaction. Either she didn't know or she didn't care that he was a bastard.

She chuckled, “I'm sorry, but what did you mean ‘where is here’? The apartment we’re in, the city? I know I’m rambling but... did you just get here from England? Oh shit, dude are you fucked up?” ...Dood? He wasn't sure if it was the accent or the language itself.

“No?”

She gave me a cheeky grin, “Are you sure?”

“What would that imply, exactly?”

An odd look came my way, “... that you were on drugs… or drank too much alcohol.” He was definitely not in Westeros anymore, he wasn't sure where he was.

No real answers, only more confusion. He didnt know which one he felt more, frustration or annoyance; he felt a scowl grow on his lips.

“Yah know what, my friend won’t be here for another 20 minutes, you wanna come inside and have a drink?” Jon didn’t know what he wanted anymore. “Maybe you can explain your situation to me?”

“Yeah, um yes,” He held out his arm for her to hold, but she gave him a questioning look. She took it nonetheless.

\------

Her room was… unique. 

Strange fires held on long torches, strange yet beautiful. Chairs of various colors, cuts, and patterns. Pictures of her and others. Pictures of various oddly dressed men by themselves, some half naked. They looked real, as if created by magic. They disturbed and amazed him all at the same time.

Her bed was also held up by metal, but it was covered in red sheets to his blue ones.

She reached up to open a cupboard, it was a bit too high for her but she managed. "Sit sit, anywhere you like. What would you like? Tea? Coffee? Water? Wine, lol." Coughie, wine lull? 

Gods, everything this woman said confused him.

"Wine."

She rolled her eyes. "Freshmen," she said under her breath. Was that this place's version of Green boy? "Okay that was a joke, you're still fucked up, I can see it in your eyes."

"Water then, if you please."

"Sure thing." She sat down and placed a glass cup -I'd never seen one like it- in front of me, did she think me a lord? "Thanks for the... fancy cup, but I'm just a lord's bastard… Raven," he ended hesitantly.

"Okay so now I really need to hear your story. You're the most interesting thing that's happened in this dorm, Mr. England, since, like, Jan and Ike had a fight down the hall." 

She leaned forward, her warm brown eyes stared expectantly into mine.

"Do you know of Westeros, Raven?"

She shook her head, curls bouncing and flying, defying gravity. It was quite mesmerizing. She pursed her lips. "Is that where you're from?"

Even Essosi knew Westeros, right? Even the Naathi and Summer Islanders knew of Westeros. Despite that, he couldn't even begin to think of the possibility of another world.

Jon lowered his head and spoke in hush tones, "Did you, ehem, die too?"

Her eyebrows raised, "You're saying that you died…" she chuckled, reached for his lower thigh and squeezed. She walked away and came back with a small metal item, "Honey, what's the last thing you remember?"

So this was or wasn't the afterlife? She never explicitly said no.

"I remember being called out of my quarters by-” he paused, “my... steward. I was informed that my-"

She clicked one end of the metal cylinder and the other end lit up. "Woah," feeling like a child, he deepened his voice, "how did you do that?"

With a confused look, "It's a flashlight, I click this end here, and it turns the small bulb in here on. I click it again and it turns off. Don't really know the details, sorry."

"You can go on with the story." She clicked it back on, "Just hold still though. This won't hurt, I promise." She put her fingers on his eyelid and pulled up, holding the flashlight to his eye.

Jon backed away and grabbed her wrist, "What- what are you doing?"

“Well your eyes are reacting pretty regular to the light, so it’s not any of the harder drugs. And you dont stink of alcohol or weed, hmmmm,” she brought a hand to her chin, “you can continue, sorry for interrupting.”

She, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. 

“Ehem, my steward, Olly, told me that my Uncle Benjen was found by one of the Free Folk. My Uncle had been presumed dead for years, so to hear the news was… extraordinary. They led me down to the courtyard at Castle Black. It’s one of the castles on the Wall defending us from the Others, not the Free Folk- but I don’t think you know what or who those things are, do you?” she shook her head once more. “Well, they told me he was last seen at Hardhome by one of the Free Folk and that he was actually there at the Castle, but it was all a lie.” He stopped to breathe, he really didn’t want to relive that moment. 

Jon had failed, failed at being Lord Commander, failed at protecting the Free Folk, failed at protecting the Realm.

“Are you okay, Jon? You sound distressed… you-” she was anxiously biting at her bottom lip, eyebrows twisted.

“My- my friend will be here in maybe,” she took out a metal rectangle from her bag, “five minutes. We were gonna head to the park to clear our heads before finals, seems like you do too. Do you wanna come?” Jon nodded. He couldn’t speak and honestly, where else would he go, at this point, to get answers.

“Do you need to pick up anything from your room? Your phone? Keys? Wallet?” He shook his head, not even caring about the lack of understanding of a couple of her words.

“C’mon.”

\-------

This was insane.

“Wh-where are we,” he gawked.

“You’re lookin at good ol’ USC, baby,” she patted my back. She was quite a touchy person, her open nature reminded him a bit of Ygritte. But her death was still fresh in Jon’s mind, and he didn’t want to disrespect her by falling for another so soon.

Despite the thin cloth covering his chest he was sweating madly, “Is it always this hot here?”

“You think this is hot? Whew Chile, this is just an average day in LA.” Great, just great.

She walked up to another woman who was paler of skin with unique shaped eyes and an odd bag on her back the color of a bright summer sky. “Hani! Hey girl, plans kinda changed, we have someone coming with us.”

Hani, as she was called, looked around Raven to look at him. Jon was awkwardly standing a bit away and gave a nod to the girl. “Ah, so you’ve finally found a boyfriend-”

“Shut the fuck up, its not like that,” She looked back and blushed, small and subtle but noticeable due to the sun’s light. “No offence, of course, I’m sure you’re wonderful boyfriend material.” Huh?

“Thank you?”

“No problem.”

“Hey, sick scar, by the way, where’d you get it-”

“Bruh, you don’t just ask people about their scars. _Thats rude_.” Raven sent me an apologetic look.

“I thought guys liked it when you talked about their ‘battle scars’,” Hani shrugged.

Jon shrugged as well, he didn't particularly enjoy being reminded of the scar, but wouldn’t mind giving her the answer. 

“A hawk.”

Hani gaped, “That’s so sick.” I guess sick was used here differently too.

“Ugh, that _is_ fucking sick.” Raven began to walk, but looked back, “C’mon, we gotta walk a bit to get to the Park.” They started to make their way around the “campus” as Raven had called it, Jon to Raven’s right and Hani to Raven’s left.

“Oh where are my manners, Jon, meet my best friend, Kim Hani. Hani, this is Jon Snow.” She smiled and waved, and he gave a small smile back, “Nice to meet you. So you go by your last name?”

Hani smiled, “No no no, I’m Korean, so we put our family names first and our unique names at the end.”

“Ah.” He'd never heard of a “Korea”, but he nodded like he had.

“You need some water, Jon. You look… parched.” Hani handed Jon a clear, weird shaped bottle filled with water.

“Uh sure, just um,” he was handed the bottle. Instinctively, he pulled the white cap and when that didn’t work he looked sheepishly at Hani. She threw him an odd look--something he was getting used to--and twisted the cap. Ah… “Thanks.” he drank and handed her back the bottle with the cap on.

As the girls talked he observed the world he had ended up in. More metal contraptions of different shapes and sizes were being used by people all around him, on their heads, in their hands, on their laps as they sat. A lot of the people there looked Westerosi, but he knew they weren't. They're open smiles as they talked to people of various shades of brown and different features were not common for the average Westerosi. It was odd and he wanted to learn more, but for now… he would be content with the kind companionship the “Gods” had given him. 

However, a niggling thought started to creep to the forefront of his mind: what if, somehow, they betrayed him too. But they seemed so sincere… but so did Olly and right now, Jon wasn’t trusting his intuition as much as he used to.

“We should get some K-bbq after!” Hani exclaimed, waking him from his wool-gathering, “but then I dip right before you guys get in,” she whispered not so loudly. Jon blushed. He didn’t know what a “kay barbecue” was or what to “dip” meant but he was smart enough to understand what she was implying. They started pushing each other around, giggling and glancing at him. It made him nervous, but it was to be expected, he wasn’t used to the looks of attractive women, playful, sinister, or otherwise.

Fucking Wall.

He crossed his arms. His weird boots, quite comfortable against the hard flat ground. Rarely, he saw anyone walk on the actual grass, all were keeping to the flattened rock. The buildings around him looked Southron. Like a castle he’d find in the Crownlands, yet the design was too different, too new.

His thoughts wandered. Had he gone to Essos and become a Sellsword, would he be dead? Probably, but in a less humiliating way than being deemed a traitor and being stabbed to death. Would he have ended up here too? Jon didn’t know and that frustrated him.

They turned a corner and what he saw would quite literally, blow his mind. This world never stopped being full of surprises. 

This was something he couldn’t have ever imagined. The roads were all paved rock with patches of land scattered here and there, metal carriages faster than horses could ever be running on them with ease, and more people of all different colors, shapes and sizes, walking together seemingly getting along. 

“Are you from the English countryside, Jon? This seems new to you. I know Raven mentioned something about you being new here, but I didn’t think she meant to the city.” Despite not knowing where the fuck the English countryside was, “You could say that, I guess.”

“Ohhh, we have to show him the Coliseum, the Science Center, the Natural History Museum, maybe even the African American Museum,” she nudged Raven in the ribs, “yah know, for yo- ehem, the future. After taking a walk in the park, of course.” She linked her arm with Raven’s.

Were all the women in this world confusing or was it _everyone_ in this world. He had yet to meet another man and that spiked his curiosity but also his dread. He had lived in a supposed brotherhood of men… that had ultimately been his downfall. He had fond memories as well, of Sam and Satin, Pyp and Grenn. He missed Robb, Bran, his father. 

He missed Arya and Hani kind of reminded him of Arya. Stop. Was he just substituting now? Replacing all the new people he meets with roles from his past. He couldn't do that, it wouldn't be right. Not to Ygritte and Arya and not to Raven and Hani.

Raven rolled her eyes, “Ugh, we don't have enough time for all of that, but maybe we can do this again next week. Is that okay with you, Jon? How about Saturday at 11?” 

When was that exactly? At that point Jon had, for the most part, given up on trying to understand their strange dialect. “Yeah, that's good.”

“Lets just take a walk in the park and show him the Colosseum, those are the most straight forward.” She must’ve sensed his confusion, so she linked her right arm with his left and pulled the arm linked with Hani to pat his arm, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this all out, you’ll get back to them.” How’d she know? No wonder he died, if he can’t even hide his emotions from two people he’s just met… 

“Am I that obvious?”

“You’ve had this longing look in your eyes since we’ve left Campus,” she paused and sighed, “Yah know, weird as it is, I believe you. I don’t think you’re high or drunk, even injured or mentally ill. I think you’re just… lost.”

“You’re really not from here, huh. A couple years ago I wouldn’t have believed you, but ever since these Superheroes have gone public, I’m willing to believe _anything_ ,” Hani chuckled. Jon hadn’t a clue what she meant by that, but the important thing was he was believed. 

“Is it normal for random men from other worlds to end up here?”

“Not really… well not exactly, but crazier things have happened here.” How could anything be crazier than this?

“Like what?”

Hani threw a look of exasperation, “Aliens, super powered teenage heroes and vigilantes, deranged super powered _villains_ , multiple ‘end-of-the-world’ scares. And that’s just what was publicized in the media.”

“I can freely say… I dont know what any of that fucking means.”

Raven chuckled, “Well, we’ll figure out a way to get you back. We’ll discuss things in more depth at the park, where we can find some _shade_ , Lord Jesus!,” she leaned on his shoulder. “There are a few magicians on the East Coast and we’ve kinda got one here--with the same name!--on our very own West Coast, so hopefully one of them will know what to do.”

“Raven’s obsessed with Superheroes so you’re in good hands, which one do you like, Raven? Was it Nightwing from Gotha-”

Raven let go of both of their arms and began to walk backwards in front of them. Her arms were crossed. She sent a jesting glare towards Hani, “I like _a lot_ of them. And he’s a _hero_ bordering _vigilante;_ not exactly a _superhero_ .” She paused, rouge lips upturned in a grin, ”But like God, have you _seen_ his ASS-”

“-Yes I’ve _seen_ his ass-”

“-curse me for objectifying that courageous, intelligent, _sexy_ man, but mm mm, homeboy can like… get it,” she twisted a curl around her finger and bit her lip. A blush found its way up Jon’s neck and on his cheeks. We’re the women as forward as Ygritte as well? His thoughts wandered again. They would’ve made good friends and he wondered if Ygritte even knew people like her, _like them_ , existed. Would she be prejudiced? Inviting? Wary at first? The sad thing was, even if he did get back, she wouldn’t be there for him to ask.

People like her.

She was beautiful in a way he’d never considered before, quite the opposite of the Targaryen beauties of old he’d heard so much about growing up. She had skin darker than the earth, yet it shined and glowed in the sunlight, lips fuller than he could imagine, and the curliest hair he’d ever seen. But beauty wasn’t enough to sway Jon. Jon didn’t even know if he _wanted_ to love again. Stupid broody, glum Jon.

“Hey Jon, which one?” Hani shoved a rectangle of bright light, at his face, with a picture. A blurry picture of a man in skin tight blue and black clothing and a clear picture of a _green_ man in red and black. 

“The blue man.” He was somewhat more familiar, especially with darker colors.

“Ugh what-the-fuck-”

“-Woo hoo hoo! Such big brain energy, such wrinkly brain energy you’re exuding Jon! I knew, I knew I was right to let you into my dorm room-” He wanted to thank her, but he also wanted to know what those compliments meant.

“-You let him into your room-”

“-Ha HA,” she kissed him on the cheek, “Nightwing for the win, sucka!” Jon had blushed more today than any other day in his life. 

Raven moved to Jon’s right putting him into the middle, “Love you girl, but from now on, Imma hang with my own kind: Nightwing stans.”

“Whatever Rae, you’ll come crawling back to me sooner or later.”

“You’re prolly right.”

He was used to this, friendships like this. Listening to them, he felt a pang at his heart, but he was grateful that this is where he landed. For all he knew, he could have woken up in a pit of fire.

The women continued to talk, even with him in between, guiding him on when and where to walk.

It was a rather odd walk, lights would tell them and the metal carriages when to stop and go; he even heard strange music coming from the inside of one of them. “They’re called cars.” Ah…

“And what kind of music was that, the one coming from one of these… cars.”

“Oh that, that was just a bit of old school rap music. From a couple decades ago, you see. I’ll show you some on my phone later,” and she took out her metal rectangle with a black looking glass. She clicked a button and it shone bright with a picture of her, Hani, and a couple of others Jon didn't recognize. All of the various shades of color and heights, and features. It was truly a sight. This is what he imagined the free cities looked like; all different people from all parts of Essos and even Westeros congregating together. 

Jon was impressed with this "phone", this black looking glass was quite good at showing pictures.

He nodded, “So, that’s a phone?”

“Yup.”

“So you both have one?”

“You’ll find that almost every single person in this city has one.”

“Oh.”

“I’d get you one if I wasn’t a broke college student who still has to pay her student loans.”

“Okay…?”

“Mhm.” She patted his back, “You’ll get it sooner or later.”

“Okay…”

They reached a clearing full of bushes, flowers, and trees.

This garden of sorts led his mind to Ghost. He wondered what Ghost would've made of this place, if he would dance and hide in the bushes or chase the birds and squirrels. He hoped to one day, at the very least, see Ghost again. He brushed the painful thought aside, he had to focus on the present.

But rarely did anything come easy for Jon.

There was green everywhere, with little pops of color. He’d seen green grass before, but in vast plains of nothingness going on for leagues, just outside of Winterfell's walls. 

He cringed and shook his head, trying to ignore the sting of pain. But it was hard. This was like a larger, open version of the glass house in Winterfell with less vegetation and more flowers and trees. He tried shaking the memory away again. It had been years since he’d seen Winterfell and he didn’t think he ever would--even if he did get back to Westeros…

He tried focusing again.

This is what he imagined the Water Gardens in Dorne looked like or any Garden in the Reach really. There was a large metal statue of a frog even and a couple buildings in the distance. Hundreds or different flowers of all different colors filled the bushes, it was mesmerizing.

“Never seen a flower before,” Raven joked.

“No,” he choked, “just used to Snow.”

“Oh, well I’m sorry to say that we don’t get any of that here.”

“S’alright, I guess.” She smiled. 

“What.”

“Just your accent, I guess.”

“You find it funny, is that it?” He replied gruffly. 

“Nah, just cute.”

“Cute?!... This- this is a strange world.”

“And you’re a strange man.”

“It seems; to many.”

“But that’s not such a bad thing,” she grinned and walked towards the shade of a large tree.

He smiled to himself and followed her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Jon in this fic has more of his show personality. In the books, Jon is a bit more politically savvy and cunning… so none a that here I guess

As the three of them sat under the shade, they sat in silence. Whether from awkwardness, content, or fatigue… he could not be exactly sure.

“So… describe this world you came from, Jon. Then we’ll um, describe our world to you. As best as we can, of course… there’s a _ lot _ .” Jon nodded to Hani. he figured he should start easy, ease them in about the Others, not frighten them with stories of ice and death.

“Yes, well, I live in the North. It’s the uppermost kingdom of the realm of Westeros, which happens to be its own continent. There are other continents and islands and places and such… but I have neither been there nor have enough knowledge to be an expert. I can tell you of the North; that’s where I was raised and thus, the kingdom I am most fond of,” he looked to them for confirmation to continue. They nodded.

“The North is the largest Kingdom, but the emptiest. It was ruled by the Kings in the North before Aegon's Conquest, which I will explain another time. My education on Westeros was primarily on its last 300 hundred years and the maesters,” the girls gave each more questioning glances, “aren’t quite sure on how old the world is as a whole… Anyways, The North has been ruled by the Starks, my forefathers-”

“-You’re a prince?!” they both shouted and quite funnily, both clamped their hands on their mouths with wide eyes. 

His grin turned to ash as he shook his head bitterly. But not at the thought of not being a prince or even a little lord, but at the thought of Robb. The Young Wolf they called him, the King of the North and how his life had turned out. “The Starks have not been Kings in the North for over 300 years… until recently- but that is also another story for another time.” he sighed. “And even though my father  _ was _ Lord Stark, I could not be a lord. Bastards of noble origin, raised in the north, are given the surname Snow. Hence my name, Jon Snow.”

“So because your mams and pops weren’t married meant you had less rights, right? Jon, this is way past medieval. At least tell me you guys had dragons and fairies, or like goblins or something.”

He pondered. “There were rumors of a certain Daenerys Targaryen with three dragons, and I’ve seen my fair share of… magic, so I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility. As for these other creatures you speak of, I’ve heard of no such things. Maybe in the Shadowlands of Asshai,” he shrugged, “but I wouldn’t know.”

“Should I continue?” they nodded. He could already see questions forming at the tip of their tongues. 

“As I said, the Stark Kings and Lords had ruled for thousands of years from the castle known as Winterfell,” a melancholy feeling befell on him. “The only city in the region is White Harbor, while the most prominent northern towns are  Winter town and Barrowton. The notable bannermen of my father included house Bolton, Cerwyn, Dustin , Flint , Glover , Hornwood, Karstark , Manderly , Mormont, Reed , Ryswell, Tallhart, and Umber.”

“I'm guessing it's not a very diverse place, your North, or um, Westeros? For that matter,” Raven cocked her head to the side in a rather attractive manner,

“In what way?”

“In different races, sexualities, cultures…”

“No, I’d say the North was not very accepting of outsiders, even from our own realm. But Westeros in itself is a realm of various different cultures; it's one of the minor reasons for many a war or rebellion though. It’s still nowhere near as diverse as Essos, however… What exactly do you mean by race or sex- sexu-”

“Sexuality, like someone's sexual orienta-” she saw the confused look on his face,”-who someone's attracted to basically. There are people attracted to the opposite gender which is called straight, then boys who like boys which is gay, girls who like girls which is lesbian, boys and girls who like both which is bisexual and of course, there’s pansexual which-”

“-I think you're short circuiting his brain, Raven.”

“Oh right, later then. I'm bisexual, by the way, I like boys and girls, hope that doesn't disgust you.”

Jon shrugged, the idea wasn’t new to him, the openness was though. “I’ve no right to judge who you bed, not my business.”

She beamed. He must’ve said the right thing. “We have people with various tastes, it’s looked upon widely as a sin in Westeros due to the Faith of the Seven-”

“-ugh religion-”

“-but there’s the kingdom of Dorne which must be a lot like here, they’re known as the more open kingdom. Otherwise, those more “dubious” tastes are reserved for brothels or overseas. But I trust we have those, just in secret.”

“Hmm.” She shifted her sitting position.

“What about races?”

“Well, we have the Children of the Forest, they're extinct now however. They were the first inhabitants of Westeros, along with the giants and the First Men. We have the Andals who migrated from Essos, the Rhoynar in Dorne, also from Essos, maybe even the Brindled Men, rumored to inhabit Sothoryos. We also have the Valyrians, many from Lys share their blood but, last I heard, there is still a trueborn, a Targaryen, Daenerys. She is the one rumored to have three dragons-"

"-Yeah I'm really sorry 'bout this, but before you go on, can I just say, that sounds super cool. I mean lack technology, hygiene,  _ and _ gender equality aside your world sounds preeeeetty interesting."

"Thanks?"

"Yeah, no problem," Hani smiled smugly to herself. She pulled out a clear container, a bowl of some sort, from her sky blue bag. It had fruits of all different colors and shapes. The sight made Jon's mouth water as he couldn't remember the last time he had ate; he couldn't even remember the last time he had  _ fruit _ .

"I gots the goods, fools! We got mango, strawberry, kiwi, and watermelon. All this talk, talk, talk and listen, listen, listen is makin mama hungry."

"You're a mother?"

"Might as well be with how I'm takin care of this big ol' baby over her-"

"-Hey!"

While their banter was endearing and fun to watch, it was starting to grate on his nerves. "There are many more races in my world, but there is one of uttermost importance, it may very well be the reason I am here."

They quieted down immediately, attentive and curious.

He cleared his throat. "The Others. A race of monsters with flesh made of ice and powers to raise the dead to do their bidding, we call  _ those _ wights," the words aged him by a decade, his voice lowered in pitch, "Their army of wights grow stronger day by day,  _ their powers over ice and snow grow stronger day by day."  _

"We don't know what they want or  _ why _ they do what they do, but none of it bodes well for the living. All we know is that dragonglass, fire, and Valyria-"

Longclaw.

In all the panic and distress, even in the times of brief happiness and embarrassment… he had forgotten Longclaw. The missing weight on his hip now glaringly obvious; it was exchanged for an equal sized weight on his soul.

"My sword," he whispered.

They giggled and he snapped, "What's so funny?"

"Oh uh nothing, just "sword" could be an innuendo for yah… you know," Raven looked down to Jon's crotch. She popped one of the yellow fruits into her mouth.

Women.

"That's not what I meant," he replied gruffly. Truthfully, Jon was mentally exhausted. He didn't want to over exert himself, "A whole world's history, even one man's life cannot be explained in one afternoon. Perhaps, it is best if I hand the mantle to you and continue at a later time." He didn't mean to sound gruff, but he was dying to be the listener once again; he reached over and grabbed one of the fruits and began to eat.

"Well what's most important here is getting you home, and on the off chance you can't, well… then we can think about assimilating you into the culture," Raven took out her phone, "I may know a guy, who knows a girl who can get us an audience with the Titans. We'll try them first since they're just up north."

"How do you know someone, who knows someone with a connection to the Titans… and more importantly, why haven't you told me?!" Hani jumped to her knees almost knocking the fruit on the grass in the process. It would've been the most tragic thing to happen to him since… well, since he'd died.

"I might've gone on a couple dates with a guy who bragged that his last girlfriend is the one who alerts the Titan's distress call through the San Francisco Police Department. She's like a fuckin, I don't know, lucky ass receptionist. He could've been lying but it doesn't hurt to try right?"

Jon looked hopeful, "And you're going to contact him through this thing?" His expression turned a bit skeptical.

"Why yes I am, good sir. Sit and watch." She began tapping on the phone until it started to buzz. "And this will-"

They both shushed him.

He raised his hands in defense. A voice began to speak through the phone. This was astonishing. Jon stared at the phone in awe, he couldn't take his eyes off of it really. This was way better than the flashlight.

"Yeah Josh, do you have any way of contacting your ex, the one who sends the Titan's distress calls."

"I have her insta, do you want that? And wait a minute, why do you need to contact her? Are you gonna go batshit and start stalking the Tita-"

"-this is really important for personal reasons, Josh. And are you  _ positive _ , and I mean  _ absolutely certain _ that that's her job."

"Yes, yes, I swear. It's, holup, lemme check, it's um, it's @-a-s-t-r-q-i-d," the phone went silent for a few seconds, "There, are you happy?"

Raven sighed, "I guess… thanks Josh."

"Yeah, no problem."

She tapped on the phone again and the voice was gone. "Awkward," she dragged out.

"So yeah, I'll just DM her, I mean message her, and hope for the best," she began furiously tapping on the phone. It lasted maybe a minute before she looked up and grinned, "So… wanna hear some music?"

He shrugged, "Okay."

"You're prolly used to that folk music, real old timey stuff. But this is some advanced shit, I'll hold off the music videos, cause I don't want to break you-" he scoffed.

"Bruh… trust me on this. I'm trying to  _ help  _ you, not mentally cripple you before we even get the chance to get you back. Aight?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "Oh, okay, here, this is called Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa. It's not  _ that  _ representative of today’s music- of well, the last decade’s music, but it’s similar to what the brotha was listening to in the car."

“He’s-”

“-And no he’s not my actual blood brother; ‘black’”, she scrunched two of her fingers from each hand in the air, “people”, she pointed to her skin, “often call each brother and sister because of common past experiences, its a sign of solidarity, like, for the most part, we’re fighting together against common problems… and to my knowledge, it originally came from slavery. It helped people to feel like they had a sense of family and connection because slavery ripped them away from their biological families. It helped comfort people who were suffering together in slavery and being taken from their relatives.” 

He was quiet for a while, the very thought of slavery disgusted him. “Your people  _ were _ slaves? Or… are?”

“Unfortunately many are still slaves, but in the Middle East. Far away from here but nevertheless: sick.” He could tell this was  _ his  _ version of sick.

“The country we’re in now and most of the world really, doesn’t have systematic slavery, unless you count the American prison system,“ she sighed, frustrated.

“On my continent, slavery is outlawed. My father abhorred slavery and so do I,” he answered in a hoarse whisper.

She smiled, "That's good to hear, you come from a good family then, to me family is everything."

He nodded. "He was a good man," he said, a bit distant, thinking of all the times he spent with his father.

She sent a smaller smile his way, offering the bowl of fruit to him, but not without a protest from Hani, "Hey!"

She sent Hani a wolfish grin, "Oh shush, you."

He took a pink one and popped it in his mouth. He offered her his thanks.

She did some sort of shake, the sleeves of her dress crinkling, hair bouncing. “So, about that song, yeah?”

“Yeah…” The effects of having a discussion on slavery and family still prevalent.

“Hopefully this will lighten the mood, or at least lighten  _ my _ mood. Yeesh.” Hani eyed them both.

Raven let out a small chuckle, “So like I said, Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa.” She began poking and sliding her fingers on the phone.

He sighed internally, "There are too many odd names and nomenclatures in your land. I've half a mind to just give up and to tune it all out."

"Oh pfft, you seem like a pretty average dude, you'll get the hang of it," Hani replied waving a green fruit around before popping it into her mouth.

"Yeah, you'll do fine." Raven grinned knowingly.

Raven had insisted on hiding what was on the phone from him, leaving him to lean his hands on the grass behind, with his head facing the sky and his eyes closed.

The less he used his sight, the more he could hear. 

A man's voice rang from the phone.

"Not gonna lie, Deadpool introduced me to this one."

It was interesting to say the least. He had never heard so many instruments play at once before, or at least that's what he thought he heard.

There was much percussion, Jon had never thought it could be used in such a way before. It was foriegn, to be sure, but… welcomed.

He raised a brow despite his closed eyes as a quite… seductive sounding voice began to speak over the music. The layers began to grow as the singing man, drums, and talking women played all at once. It was less awful sounding then he would've guessed.

**“Damn, baby, that sounds sexy”**

He didn't quite  _ know _ what the word sexy meant, but he sure could guess with its inclusion of the word “sex”.

**“Girls, what's my weakness?”**

“Men!” Both women shout out, although Hani seemed to do it out of obligation, while Raven said it out of zeal. 

His eyes snapped open, head lifting to catch Raven’s head bobbing to the music, however her eyes darted to him for a moment. A moment so small, that one might say it never happened. She  _ did  _ seem quite taken with the music, eyes focused on her phone, but he could tell something was off as she had a plumish blush on her cheeks.

He sent her a questioning look that she didn’t catch and leaned his head back to listen to the music once again. Jon closed his eyes and tried to filter out the sound of the wind rustling through the trees or the birds that chirped in the distance.

It seemed the woman would continue to rhythmically speak over the instruments. Many of the words were lost to him as she had gone too fast and spoke in a very foriegn accent.

He had to admit, it was quite a good song, despite the newness of it all. So much so, that it brought him the desire to sway to the beat and maybe tap his foot as well.

**“-butt like that”** He raised an eyebrow, eyes still closed, head still hung. This place’s culture, it seemed, was not particularly fond of propriety in public. It was so free, so similar to the Free Folk, yet…. so  _ different. _ He enjoyed it nonetheless, the less bullshit the better. Just say what you want to say; lies and schemes and fronts were never things he admired or aspired to be good at.

He appreciated this, that even in this new world he found a way to be surrounded by seemingly honest people. Raven was such an open book in terms of emotions and endearments. It was a stark contrast to the usual coldness from his former -he cringed- brothers at the harsh political landscape that was the Wall. And Hani was quite blunt with  _ everything _ , she didn’t seem to care one bit about what anyone thought, he respected that.

The song continued, the women had abandoned her verse and only the instrumentals and singing man remained. **“Don't you know I wanna shoop, baby”** Shoop? They had repeated that word many times, he recalled it was what Raven had called the song… He wondered what it meant.

Despite that thought, he couldn’t help but think that this was a _ very long song _ . Longer than any song that required the voice of a person he’d ever heard.

With his eyes still closed he asked, “Is this the end?”

“Not even close, we’ve still got another 2-,” she paused, “just know that it’s halfway done, don’t you worry.”

“I’m not,” he answered.  _ Only halfway? _ It wasn’t that he was worried, just disconcerted. He was never one for music, he’d liked to spend his time with the sword instead. If this was a norm in this land, then it’d seem this was something he’d have grow to understand.

**“You make me wanna scream, ‘Ooh, ooh, ooh!’, I like what you do when you do what you do”** This song was  _ very _ forward. But it was also refreshing, his time spent at the wall after his time with the Free Folk had been even harder than the time before. To have any amount of honesty was much needed.

He opened his eyes to the sky as the song continued, watching the clouds slowly move and the birds fly by. Wary of the sun’s light he moved his eye from cloud to cloud. It was a man's voice now that began to rhythmically speak to the music. It paired well with the rest of the song, although he sent a questioning look at the sky at what the man implied by saying,  **“Mm mm mm, for the smell of it.”**

When they repeated the word again he finally asked. He hadn’t even bothered to look up, “What does it mean… shoop,” he worded out slowly.

“In this context? It means to have sex.” Ah, never one to beat around the bush.  _ Thanks Hani. _

When the song ended he lifted his head to meet the stare of a very flushed Raven. She broke the stare to look around, her hand fanning her face, "You were right, it's super hot today-"

"-But- I thought you said this was nothing-"

She laughed nervously, "Aha, don't listen to me, I'm just a crazy American."

Amaericen?

"You're a bit eccentric yes, but crazy?" He paused and tried to meet her eyes, "I think you're one of the sanest people I've talked to in a while, actually."

"What am I? Chopped liver?"

"You too Hani."

"Thank you," she said exasperated, shoving another piece of fruit in her mouth.

He rolled his eyes, already quite used to the dynamics of their acquaintance. He addressed Raven, “Are all the songs here that long?”

“Long?,” she scoffed, but she still had the hint of a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye, “No honey, but most of the ones made today are, more or less, around this time frame.” _ A frame of time? _

He hummed in response. The silence that followed was less awkward than it had been when they’d first sat down. He was thankful for it. It allowed him to fully observe the land and sky.

He stared once again at the light blue sky, he stared hard. He could find no difference from that of a summer day at Winterfell and that soothed him… Maybe home was closer than he thought. Maybe he’d get there soon. He looked up to see the girls following his example, captivated with their own little patch of sky. And maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad if he couldn’t either...


	3. Chapter 3

The moment lingered before he felt the odd sensation of being watched. He looked up to find the girls still enraptured in their own little worlds so he looked around and found more people milling about, their eyes casually glazing over his and the girl’s figures. 

Most looked of a similar age to him and just as oddly dressed as Hani and himself. Raven’s dress was of a cut he’d expect in warmer climates, it was neither improper nor conservative. But Hani wore something similar to himself, however, it looked more suited for a woman's shape. 

Something he’d noticed but tried wholeheartedly to ignore were all the improper cuts worn by the women here: pants that barely reached mid thigh, skirts of the same length, and tops and tunics that left little to the imagination. Even some of the men here wore pants that were knee length, shirts that left their shoulders bare, and some even wore a strange shoe that left their toes open. 

He could understand the function it served: to keep them cool on a hot day, but it was hard understanding the normalization of it all, no one blinked an eye against it. And worst case scenario, he’d be stuck here and would need to understand this land's curious ways.

He craned his neck back to look forward, the girls were now, in what looked like a debate.

About what? He did not know. 

He took the opportunity to take some fruit and process what it would mean to stay. He wouldn’t be pampered by Raven and Hani forever, there would come a day when he would go out on his own, and he needed to be prepared. He knew not of the nuances of this land -the culture, the dialect- it would take years for him to learn and longer to get used to. But why was he _ here? _ What was so special about  _ this world _ and no other that he needed to be sent here? 

Hopefully it was those… “Super Heroes” Raven would get him too; he didn’t want to spend anymore precious years just looking for the solution, frustrated and stranded, and he would not always have the girl's help.

Raven and Hani calmed in their speech to suddenly laugh about something entirely unknown to him. He sent them a questioning look and what came back was a blinding smile. The contrast of colors between her red painted lips, dark skin, and white teeth paralyzed him.

“Jon, come here,” Raven snickered, mirroring Hani’s suspicious behavior. He shook himself out of his stupor and slid next to her. “What is it?” He asked, clearly confused.

“Take a picture with us,” she took the sleeve of his shirt in her hand and tugged gently. “Scoot in closer, yeah, mhm, that’s it.”

She looked giddy. She held the phone out in front of her and on it he could see… he could see them! Hani was on Raven’s other side watching him through the phone, well- so was Raven. They looked expectant, like they were waiting for his reaction. 

Jon was impressed yes, but a bit worried. He was so clear, there on that little thing, a tiny version of him stuck inside her phone. “And- and what do we do?”

“We stay still, and- well- look at the phone however you want,” she pointed to a black circle at the top of her phone, “as per usual, I will smile, Hani will smirk and you- you can do whatever it is you’d do if you were sitting down for a portrait… or you can smile like me. You do have a very nice smile.” He faced her, not quite looking into her eyes as the embarrassment forming in his chest had prevented him to. “Thanks, I guess,” his voice coming out gruff. He cringed. Luckily, she didn’t look the least bit fazed. “Mhm,” she hummed in response.

He looked into the phone, figuring out how he wanted to be immortalized onto that tiny contraption. As per  _ his _ usual, he looked solemnly into the phone. However he settled for a small upturn at the corner of his lips. His first stance had spooked him. 

He understood now, more than he’d ever had. He was really his father’s son; when he looked up at that phone he saw the face of his father staring back at him. It was startling and something he was  _ not _ ready to face.

He held the look, waiting for a sign from either of the women that meant  _ we’re done _ . Raven tapped on a circle on the phone and an odd sound came out of it. She put the phone back down and gestured for him to see what was on the phone. “Wow, just one? Must be our lucky day,” Hani said, huddling closer to Raven.

He too got closer, the phone, even out of its previous position, held the same contents as it had when they held their poses. “I think it’s pretty good for a first pic, huh?” She turned back to him, “What d’ya think, Jon?” 

He stared at the picture a moment longer, “Yeah... it's nice.” Jon shot her a reassuring smile and he thought he saw her eyes soften.

He felt something warm begin to grow in his chest, though, if asked, he’d swear it came from the sweltering heat.

“Why are we here again?” He looked around, eyes lingering on each flying bird or swaying branch.

“We have a test soon, it’s very stressful and it dictates a lot of our future. It’s an honest to god pain.”

“A test?”

“Well, multiple tests in the span of a week or so, depending on your major or majors-” sensing his confusion she waved her hand dismissively. “Just boring stuff.”

He nodded, too tired to not comply. Suddenly, he felt her arm brush up against his, making him aware of their all too close proximity. Out of propriety he gently slid away, a sliver of air separating them now. 

He twisted his head at the sound of a tired voice, “We were going here to _ forget _ about it, so let’s do that,” Hani said, leaning her head on Raven’s.

He waited for Raven to begin a long winded tangent on why Hani was correct, yet she was silent.

“... Yeah,” Jon agreed to fill in the lack of response.

It had seemed that Raven had already taken her advice and had begun to look at more things on her phone; Hani, eyes closed, breath soft, seemed to have already drifted off on her shoulder.

But Jon- well, _ Jon was bored _ . There, he said it. Jon had stepped out of the confusion of the storm, and into what was maddening calm. He clenched and clenched his sword hand, missing the weight of Longclaw in times of distress, or happiness… or boredom.

“You good?” Raven carefully turned her head away from the phone, mindful of Hani, deep in slumber.

Despite the strange grammar he understood what she was trying to say. “Yeah…” he debated over telling her the whole truth, “... just… bored.”

“Oh my- Jon, I’m so sorry, I was just so  _ fixated  _ on my phone. I’m so stupid-” Well, he didn’t think so. It was truly  _ not _ a problem, he could handle boredom. Boredom was a constant when living at the Wall.

“-Here.” She motioned for him to move in closer once again. “While Hani is taking her nap, let’s actually watch something this time.” His eyebrow lifted in intrigue. 

She looked down bashfully and  _ stuttered _ , which was new, “I-it’s, ehem, ‘Top 10 Batfamily sightings in Gotham’.” She looked away. 

_ Okay? _

He didn't understand the implications of being embarrassed about that statement. He’d never even heard of this “Bat Family” or this place called “Gotham”. 

“This family is quite mysterious then?”

“You could  _ definitely _ say that,” she held up the phone a bit closer, moving images of old men playing with a stick in a green field were displayed. A man was talking, albeit using far too many foreign words for him to understand. “It's just an ad er- advertisement… they’re trying to sell something to us.” 

“Trying to sell what?” She clicked on two white, thick lines in the middle of the moving pictures and it stopped.

“Well… it’s called Viagra and it helps men get,” she motioned towards his legs. 

“Helps men get what?” 

“Yah know-,” he in fact, did not know, “-get hard.”  _ Ah _ .  _ Oh _ . 

“You advertise  _ prostitution _ ,” he reeled back in disgust. 

“What?! No!” She dropped the phone into her lap, hesitating before carefully pulling his arm and thus his whole body back in, mindful of Hani’s sleeping form, “We do  _ not _ advertise prostitution… like that. We have pills, drugs,  _ medicines _ in this world that help men perform. Either in marital, payed for, or other types of ehem- sex.” She shook her head in a contained, furious way, “They were not trying to sell people for sexual purposes, or people period.” Period?

His shoulders slackened under words… and her touch, “You have medicines for this sort of thing?”

She nodded. “”And besides, prostitution- sex work itself isn't an inherently bad thing-” Jon have her a pointed look, “-its the means by which the sex workers are introduced to the job that make it bad.” 

He raised a brow in confusion. She let go of his arm to move her hands as she spoke.

“Yah know-”

He didn't know.

“-whether or not they wanted to do it or not… if they were forced or coerced, or joined under their own free will. That's what makes the difference.”  _ Ah.  _

He’d never put much thought into whether, or whether not a “whore” would choose to work at a brothel. For most of his life he’d just pitied them without asking why. He’d just assumed most of them, being under the whim of payers, never really  _ had _ a say in what they did. He still thought that, though, it could very well be a different story in this land.

“Also, what constitutes as sex work in this land might differ to what you're used to. We have people who don't even have to  _ meet _ the people paying them and it’s still considered sex work, it’s a bit more safe… and a bit more profitable too.” He couldn't fully wrap his head around the concept, yet accepted what she told him.

“In my land, normally the women- and men at brothels are born into the profession, they know no other way… and I’ve never really liked the idea of it anyways-”

She cocked her head to the side, her curls brushing against Hani's face causing her to stir. She put a finger to her lips and gently brought Hani’s head to her lap, “Continue.”

“Well, the idea of a brothel never sat right with me… for many reasons. Sex without marriage leads to bastards, bastards like me… that’s not a life for anyone and I- I got lucky, my Lord father actually raised me.”

She seemed to ponder for a moment, “Hmm, I mean I think I understand where you're coming from. The lines are less blurred, I’m sure. Although I’m not  _ too _ familiar with the inner workings of medieval-” There was that word again.

“-brothels, I understand the material conditions of the time would not bode well for anyone working in a brothel… or anyone concepted at one... you’re valid in your opinion, Jon.”

He nodded, not knowing how to continue the conversation. “Should we watch that video or is it best that we-”

“-No, we should watch the video, show you what you’re getting into, being in our world and all.”

“Alright.”

She fiddled with the phone -its black mirror surface replaced by colorful lights- brought it up for both of them to see and clicked the white triangle in the middle, and the “advertisement” for bigger cocks continued. Raven hummed a soft tune, seemingly anxious at the sight of the advertisement, but calmed as it ended. 

There was a figure in the distance of this very long picture, it wore dark colors and the long picture- or er “video” seemed to shake as the figure got closer… or rather as the person taking the video got closer. Heavy breathing could be heard and the figure seemed to be frozen before Jon saw its cloak billowing in the wind. The scene changed into one of that of the black and blue wearing man from Hani’s phone, and the voice of a woman replaced the heavy breathing.

“Hey, this is Ashley with WatchMojo and today were counting down our picks for the top 10 Batfamily sightings in Gotham-”

He stared, entranced as more real life events played out right in front of him. Most were dark and blurry to be sure, but there was enough light somehow in the darkness to make out what was what.

“Due to the mysterious nature of the Bat Family there aren't many videos or photos of them out and about, even less that are viable for a countdown video like ours. But here on WatchMojo we’ve compiled some of the most interesting,  _ real _ candid photos of your favorite Gotham vigilantes.”

“On our list at number 10, a Bat in daylight-”

True to her word, it  _ was _ daytime. The city’s architecture was not unlike that of this city’s in most of its ways, but the buildings were darker and the streets a bit... grimier. 

There was a man standing on top of one of these tower-like-buildings. He wore a yellow and black suit and what looked to be a white bat on his chest. 

Is that why they were called the Bat Family?

“-Although known to fight crime during the day, Signal is rarely captured on screen due to his control over shadows. Known as Gotham's only meta-” What was a meta? “-his full range of abilities is still largely unknown, but, here, we can see him swinging through the buildings with his grappling hook.”

He watched as the man seemed to defy the laws of nature, his body gracefully flying through the wind, holding what looked to be rope. The video played again and again till the women moved on to the next person and the next. 

“The men here seem… very... agile,” with agile being the best way to put it. They moved more gracefully than any Northerner- any  _ man _ he’s ever known. It was Jon who was the most graceful man at and beyond the Wall, that’s what it seemed to everyone else. Was he just more suited in this land?

“Yeah, I mean gender roles aren’t as rigid and it helps to be light on your feet when fighting criminals. It’s just the smartest thing to do, I guess. Fight smart, not hard, I guess.”

When he thought about it, his fighting style was quite unique to that of the others: lighter, faster. You could even call it Southron. That’s why he always had the upper hand. He was strong too of course, but brute force was nothing compared to speed and agility, “Yeah... I guess.” 

“At number five sits our newest Robin-”

“This is him, one of the guys we’ll be talking to if our girls sees us through.”

He paid extra attention to the phone, sizing up the  _ child _ in odd clothing, similar but unique to that of the previous “Bat Family” members. He watched as the boy crossed his arms and scowled, though, there was nothing to prompt it. His mouth opened like he was talking to someone, although again, no one was there. He then took out a contraption from his belt, held it to the sky and rope shot out from it… then… then he vanished. _ What? _

“Yeah, he’s not so young anymore, but that's him alright. He’s not in Gotham anymore, he’s in San Fran with the Titans -the people that can help you. Another member’s there too, he’ll show up soon enough.”

He nodded, wondering just _ how _ these people would get him back. The first member he’s seen and its petulant child… he hated to think it, but he lost a bit of hope.

Raven nudged his shoulder, “Hey, trust me. They’re some of the best in the game… yeah and the closest, but some of the best nonetheless. They’ll get you outta here. Promise.”

Promise… 

His father had promised him as well. Promised to talk to him about his mother, and now he’s dead and the secret of his mother dead along with him. Promises were shite until they were seen through. Promises were rarely kept. But he stared into her eyes, scrutinized the way they seemed to hold that promise in them. He was sure she believed, and maybe for now that was enough, but he stayed skeptical. Skeptical, but hopeful and maybe a little scared. 

Maybe Jon secretly didn't want to leave, didn't want to go back to back stabbing and politics in that cold forgotten place. Maybe he could stay in the warmth and heat with someone -he glanced at Hani- with people who seemed to care about him.

“Yeah… yeah, you're right.”

She pat my shoulder, rolling her eyes to make a jape, “When am I not-”

“All the time,” Hani mumbled, though she still seemed to be asleep.

Raven’s head seemed to snap as she stared in horror at Hani’s sleeping form, then back at Jon in surprise. Then her face morphed into that of jubilation as she tried to contain her giggles. 

They came out as puffs of air and the tinkling of bells. The scene was so childish, so outlandish that he just had to laugh. Deep chuckles left his mouth, prompting Raven to continue with her own giggles… only stronger. 

It got to the point that Hani began to stir, only this time she didn't go back to sleep.

“Wha- what's going on?”

In between laughs she said, “We- we were just ahaha- we were just watching a Watchmojo ahahaha- on the Batfamily-”

“-it was that funny?” That seemed to sober him up, but he still held a smile on his face.

Raven looked at Jon with a look that said  _ don't tell her _ . He complied.

She nodded, “Yep.”

Hani shrugged, “Okay then, let’s finish it.”

Raven began the video again and he found himself enraptured by the video again, each moment just as fascinating at the last. Unlike Jon, Hani was unimpressed with the video, almost bored really.

Raven stared at the phone, but addressed him still, “Oh Jon, this is him, the leader.”

“At number two we have now Red Robin -leader of the Titans- as a young  _ Robin _ caught at an Ice Cream Shop holding what seems to be coffee ice cream-”

The boy was in similar clothes to the angry Robin, in that the colors were the same, but the silhouettes were  _ very _ different. He seemed happier than the last Robin, he had a skip to his step. But like the last Robin, he held a contraption to the sky and flew away. 

“-how he swung with that ice cream, I don’t know. That just goes to show you how talented these young Robins really are.”

Raven sighed dreamily, “Yeah.”

He furrowed his brows.

“And here at number one, we’ve got the one and only, the big bat himself, Batman. This image, circa 2004, is a scene from his earlier years as the Bat. Rarely captured, this is the only known verified image of the Bat. He’s seen to be mid chase on top of one of Downtown Gotham's many businesses-”

_ Batman… _ he was a very skillful man if he was able to avoid ever being on video, and from the sound of it, for a very long time as well. And there wasn't much to the picture either, it was more of just a shape resembling a man in black than anything else.

“-and that concludes our video. Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent vide-”

Raven’s phone turned to black once more and put it back on her lap. “Yep, that's it-” 

Hani Yawned.

“-that was the video. What d’ya think Jon?”

What was he supposed to say? “It was good, informative.”

She raised a brow, as if asking for more.

“It was nice too?”

“Alright, yeah, thanks.”

“Yo Raven, we should head to the Coliseum in an hour, before it closes and all.”

“Oh shoot, that’s right… but what should we do in the meanwhile?”

“Well you guys can go smoochie smoochie again and I can go back to sleep-”

The girls began their playful banter again, interrupted with light hits on the arms or thighs, or mean snickers at each other's expense, but it was all in good fun. He did enjoy watching them fight, it was its own source of entertainment. 

But it also allowed some time to think again, to be in his own mind and that was not what he needed, or rather wanted. So he thought of something.

“I know what we can do next.” 

The girls stopped their banter to look at him expectantly, he smirked in amusement.

“We can-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm back.... FINALLY, very sorry for the wait, School + Quarantine don't mix very well for me:( Anyways, hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, be honest, would yall like to see some smut in this fic or nah. Its all up to you...

He straightened out his back, and shifted over to face them, “We can grab a pint. I need some ale if I’m going to survive-”

“-we’re too young to drink in bars,” Hani put bluntly. 

“... Drink.... in bars?”

“Yeah…” Raven looked nervous, “I only have wine back at the dorm and I’m not exactly supposed to have it, like, it's illegal.”

He felt his lip curl in a smile, he didn't think her the type to go against the rules, especially ones that were apparently  _ illegal  _ in this land. He frowned.

“You’re too young to drink? How is that so? I’ve been drinking ale since I was 12… is drinking different here?” Of course it was,  _ everything _ was different here.

“Mhm, you can’t purchase alcohol er- or ale, wine, any of that sorta stuff till you’re 21-”

_ One and twenty?! That’s torture! _

“-not at a bar, at a store, a restaurant- nowhere.”

He spluttered, “But why?”

Hani took to answering his question, “I guess to discourage people into drinking. I mean, I honestly agree that there should be an age limit, 21 is fine for me, but Rae thinks it should be at 18 not 21.”

Raven shrugged unapologetically, “If too much is drunk before the brain develops, it could cause problems, and the brain only fully develops at 25. So we’re already early, but you’re an adult at 18. That means it should be up to them what they do with their own bodies, right?”

He nodded, “Yes, I agree, though in my land, Westeros, you are an adult at 16. Odd, but- cause problems how?”

She sat up a bit straighter, “Messes with your memory, your ability to problem solve. You also have a higher chance of developing mental illnesses. I mean, it also makes you more prone to being addicted to it. So… yeah,” she coughed, “not good.”

He raised a brow, “Yet, knowing this, you still keep it in your cupboard?”

She blushed, plum spreading across her cheeks. And he couldn’t deny, it was a nice look.

“Ooooh, you just got owned-”

“-owned?” “-it's just wine guys, c’mon.”

“Wait- owned?”

Catching his worried look, Raven said, “Oh no, no, it’s alright Jon. It doesn’t mean to literally own. It just means you got me- bested me, if you will, with your words or actions. It was good, funny.” 

“Ah, alright.”

“And besides, wine once a month at _ 19 _ isn’t bad, it's actually good for the heart, it has antioxidants or somethin’ like that.” He cocked his head, but nodded all the same. Wait-

“You’re older than me?” He then wondered how marriage worked in this land? Following what he’s heard about this land, he assumed marrying ages were much older. How much? He wasn't sure. But 19 was already past the normal marrying age in Westeros.

“Do I look young?” She looked amused, as if she’d heard this before.

“Yes, to put it bluntly. The uh- painted lips make you look older though.” He felt his face warm.

“Oh.”

Hani smirked, nudging Raven’s shoulder with her own, “Please, don’t stop your flirting on  _ my  _ account.”

He was confused… yet again. “I don't even know what “flur-ting” is.”

“That's fine, because we  _ weren’t doing it,”  _ she gave Hani a hard look, “How old are you then Jon? You can’t be  _ that  _ much younger… can you?”

“I'm one an-... I’m 18.” Raven looked relieved, and so did Hani for some reason…

“Oh, okay.”

Hani then felt the need to speak up, “Yeah, well, you look older than that. It works for you.”

“Thanks?” 

He thought back to the name Raven had called him in her room. Something about fresh men, that seemed to imply he was young… or at least looked it. 

He caught Raven’s eyes with his own, “You called me something in your room, you said I was a- a fresh man? What does that mean?”

“Someone in their first year of college or high school, but I meant a college freshman, since well, I’m in college.”

“College…”

“It’s the school you go to after you’ve finished high school, if you chose to do so,” she waited for a look of understanding.

“School… the place you go to learn?”

Nothing.

“Well, it's more of a system than a place, really. There's different kinds too- like  _ high  _ school for example- but it's mandatory in this country till you're 18.” That seemed restrictive yet... liberating...

“And you thought I resembled one of these fresh men?”

“Oh, well, only underage freshmen are dumb enough to get “fucked up”, as I said, on finals week. It was just an assumption… an assumption that was partially right.”

There was a moment of silence.

“So no drinking then?”

She cracked a smile, “Not until we get back to the dorm rooms.”  _ I can wait that long. _

“”Why the sudden need to drink?” Hani inquired.

“Oh I don't know. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m in an entirely different world and a drink would be a  _ much  _ needed comfort.”

Hani put her hands up in defeat, “That’s valid.”

He sighed.

“I do have a few questions, in the meanwhile.”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

“What was with those flying men?”

“Flying men?”

“Yes, the one from the video you showed me.”

He could hear Hani scoff in the background, but he focused on the way the corner of Raven’s lips upturned in a smile, “Those were  _ not _ flying men. They were using grappling hooks, or rather grappling guns.”

Nodding at his confused face she went on, moving her hands in a way that meant to mime what she was saying, “They’ve got these hooks on the end that can grab onto rock, or ledges-”

“-or ice.”

“Yeah, or ice-”

He remembered having to use hooks to climb up the Wall, just a couple years ago, though, he didn't remember it being quite so graceful.

“-and they’re so strong, that your whole body can be carried, can weigh on the strength of the hook and its wire-”  _ Wire? _

“-what’s a… wire?”

“It’s metal shaped into flexible rope or thread, if thick enough, it can carry the weight of- the weight-” she struggled to find what words to say.

“The weight of elephants. Do you have elephants in your land?”

“Well yes, but I’ve never actually seen one… I’ve heard they're huge, gigantic even.”

“Mhm, so it can easily carry the weight of a human. The interesting part-”

“-oh, there’s an interesting part?”

Raven gave Hani the side eye, “Yes, yes there is.”

She went on as if never interrupted, “The interesting part is the gun. It helps shoot out the hooks to high places super fast. Normally, if you hear the word gun, it means a weapon that shoots out small compact pieces of metal- almost like... a miniature cannon.”

“So, they weren’t  _ flying  _ at all, just swinging.” That made much more sense. _ I mean flying men? C’mon Jon _ .

“Yep, though we do have  _ actual  _ flying men, flying people really”

He spluttered once again, “How?!”

“For most, it’s just their nature, since they’re not really human, just look it… or are part human. For some, they use advanced technology,” Raven shook her phone as an example, “the kind us normal people can’t get to.”

“Are there videos of these people too?” He was a bit eager to see it, more than a bit.  _ Actual flying people. Wow. _

“Oh-my-god tons- stones?” He nodded,  _ that  _ he understood.

“Here scooch closer. You wanna watch Hani?” Hani nodded.

Raven began tapping and sliding her fingers on the phone. Eventually, she brought her knees closer to her chest, holding the phone as one of its sides layed on her dress-covered knees.

There was a man in blue, with accents of red on his belt, boots and cloak. He was  _ floating _ , in midair no less. Leagues above the ground, on level with the tops of the tower covered landscape. He looked solemn, but frustrated. Suddenly, red pulsing light left his eyes; the video moved to show his target: a rocky, jagged beast of a creature. He could hardly believe his eyes.

“This was about three or four years ago, I remember first seeing it on the news- Doomsday,” Hani had a sad, wistful look about her. “For some reason, Los Angeles -the city we’re in- is villain free, all the baddies go east or north or anywhere else. But hey, I don’t mind.”

Raven nodded, “I’m not sure why, but we  _ never  _ feel the bulk of an end of the world crisis. Maybe cause we don’t have our own patron Hero… maybe cause Hollywood’s already the most evil thing imaginable... but I doubt it,” she chuckled.

“So you experience many of these… end of the world crises?”

Hani nodded, “Especially recently, but they always get stopped, I’m grateful, but kinda annoyed.” 

“Annoyed?”

“Just cause they keep happening in the first place, I’m slowly becoming desensitized to it all. It happens too much.”  _ Oh _ .

He didn't want to be selfish, to open any wounds- even if they said they  _ did  _ say they were largely unaffected. But he needed to know- needed to make his stay here as useful as possible if he were to make it back, if. “Maybe your experience with them can aid in my own world’s… end of the world…”

“Well Raven here , is our resident expert, take it away.”

“Why thank you, Hani.”

“Well, you mentioned an army- we don’t get many army type scares, mostly one off baddies powerful enough to ruin the entire world. How those go, are that the Justice League -a different group of Heroes, they’re older- handle it, together. They’re all very powerful individually in their own ways, but together they can practically defeat anything. Same with the Titans, but they tend to solve West coast problems.”

He was frustrated, “We don’t have the luxury of Super powered men-”

“-well, I wouldn't call it a  _ luxury _ -”

“-who can miraculously fix everything. If I don’t figure something out, all of Westeros could fall.”

The mood went somber.

“But why you, Jon?” Raven asked softly, “you have the weight of your entire world on your shoulders, why?”

He thought about it long and hard; the air, thick with sorrow and contemplation. Why had he felt it  _ his  _ responsibility? Why care so much for a world that  _ discarded  _ him, betrayed him? 

He stared at his palms, all too real and calloused and sweaty, “Because- because I’ve seen it with my own eyes…” his palms curled into themselves, turning to fists, “I’ve seen the terror they spread by their mere  _ existence…  _ and because,” he looked at them with resolve, “I’ve seen the incompetency of who I’d left behind to handle it.”

The girls glanced at each for just a second before seemingly agreeing to something. “If you truly believe that, Jon, we’ll do everything we can to help you succeed, everything,” Raven said, laying a hand on his shoulder. Hani nodded, “We believe you Jon. And I think it's smart to call the Titans too.”

Raven looked pleasantly surprised, “You do?”

“Yeah, Raven’s always opening portals then disappearing, looks promising.” Raven grinned.

“You’re not talking about the same Raven, are you?”

“No, I mean the Superhero who goes by that name, might be her real one, don’t know. But yeah, same name,  _ very  _ different in everything else.” Jon nodded.

Jon felt his heart swell, he was glad they saw the importance of his cause, “And I’m touched, your promise will not be in vain. I will make myself as useful as possible, to repay the debt of your kindness and hospitality.”

Raven pat his shoulder, but as he welcomed it, he’d realized it had never left his shoulder. As she placed her hand back in her lap, he mourned the loss, but didn’t wait to ask himself why.

“There’s really not much you can do right now, except be our friend of course.”

“Of course.”

“Yeah, just hang out with us, It’ll be  _ so  _ much fun showin’ you around LA,” the gleam in Hani's eyes amused  _ and  _ frightened him at the same time.

“I’ll... look forward to it, Hani.”

“Mhm.”

As the conversation slowed, he remembered the video of the flying man. The man who had spurred their very conversation. “Who was that flying man, and what were those… lights coming out of his eyes?”

“Oh, that was Superman. He’s the most- well one of the most powerful men on earth, it’s a good thing he uses it for good-”

He had to agree.

“-and those were lasers- laser beams? Hm… well they- well I’m not exactly sure  _ how  _ they work, but they’re very destructive to whatever they hit… unless they're nearly invincible,” she gestured to the video on her phone.

“And the beast?”  _ The nearly invincible one. _

“It’s name is Doomsday, or at least that's what they call it. The public doesn’t know much about it, but it’s pretty powerful, powerful enough to temporarily take out the Man of Steel- another moniker for Superman.”

“Should we not go to him for help?”

“No,” she paused, thinking of the right words to say, “this isn’t really his area of expertise. He’s more of a hands on, physical powerhouse… We need someone who’s good at technology or magic, but I think magic is really what we need.”

“Then I’ll trust your advice.” She nodded.

“If push comes to shove, you should ask the Titans to help, if they manage to find a way back for you, of course. But they could probably put a dent on that army, easily… especially with Superboy, Wondergirl- well everyone.”

“Let’s see if they can get us back first- let’s see if we can even  _ get  _ to them first.”

“Yeah, hopefully she answers soon, and with good news. But it’s only been an hour so, we’ll see.” He hummed in response.

Hani took out her own phone, glanced at it then said, “Yeah, we should head over to the Coliseum now, then we can head back to your room, Raven.”

“Yeah,” she answered, already getting up as Hani packed her empty clear bowl in her bag. With her dress flowing slightly in the wind, she brushed off the dirt from her skirt. As he stared, which was quite unlike himself, she held a hand out for him to get up, “Up you go, Jon Snow.” She smirked, looking proud of herself for the rhyme.

With the help of her hand in his, he stood. Looking down at her, he gave his thanks.

“No problem.” Which he thought must be a common answer to thanks in this land. 

Realizing they were still holding hands, he swiftly let go. He looked up to gauge Raven’s reaction, but her head was already turned. He could spot Hani shaking her head in faux disappointment, a smile still gracing her lips. He turned to look back at Raven, but she had already started walking.

“You two are idiots.”

“Whatever, Hani,” she shrugged and went about her way; as did he, following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Welcomed to comments of any kind<3


End file.
